And so here’s the thing about Conor McGregor, and fighters like him…it’s our gullibility that is always at stake. That’s what’s fun. We know we’re either being fools to believe in him (like he believes in him), or we think we’re too smart to fall for that. In any case, that’s a good dynamic, having your powers of perception played with so freely. That’s why people seek to monetize their hunches through gambling.

Good way to describe gambling from the MMA Fighting blog. It’s obviously intuitive, but … watching Conor’s display brings an uncanny sense of reality to this characterization.

Someone has been feeding my orange tree an animal based diet! Look at that cellulite!

But being serious, maybe this is the impact of the drought? I’ve never seen orange peels look like this. They are amazingly sweet though … I don’t think I’ve tasted sweeter oranges in my life.

I think it might have something to do with the water because of the way the centers are pulling away. It’s like the inside part of the orange (pulp) is contracting. It’s pulling in from the outside (giving the visible lumpiness to the zest & pericarp on the outside), and pulling out from the inside, creating the separation from the central column.

They are ripe though, but some I still have to give a solid pull. A few just started dropping, so I know it isn’t overripe.

a panel that advises the Agriculture Department is ready to recommend that you be told not only what foods are better for your own health, but for the environment as well.

That means that when the latest version of the government’s dietary guidelines comes out, it may push even harder than it has in recent years for people to choose more fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and other plant-based foods — at the expense of meat.

And …

The beef and agriculture industries are crying foul, saying an environmental agenda has no place in what has always been a practical blueprint for a healthy lifestyle.

Thee things stand out to me here:

Beef and agriculture industries are crying foul.

An environmental agenda has no place.

Practical blueprint for a healthy lifestyle.

Who do they think they are kidding? OH right. Americans. lol

Last year the documentary Cowspiracy came out. It’s pretty eye opening. Check it out ( cowspiracy.com ).

Braintoy is a now defunct (I think?) Toronto rock band I came across a long time ago. For a rock band, I find them very trance … they had a groove. They had a unique sound I haven’t heard many places. Very much progressive rock. With a heavy bottom.

I came across their music on the (also) now defunct Denver based Chronix Radio. One of the early icecast radio stations serving the metal genre. I caught onto Chronix pretty early (’99?) after they started; I had a similar interest, and I was gett’n after it with my start-up PlanetGig at the same time. I remember sending in a donation to support the guys there as I loved what they were doing, and out of the blue, getting tons (maybe hundreds) of stickers in the mail back in return. Original logo! Collectors items. F’n love start-ups.

Anyways, Braintoy was in rotation one day. They immediately caught my ear; they had it. Doesn’t seem like they ever really took off though other than maybe a cult following, and now their site is also down. I can’t find much recent history on them. Their facebook page has a post from 2012 that says they are recording again.

They still have some youtube clips up. This is one of my favs.

I managed to capture an original live version of As Am I, which I’ve had in my personal library for at least a decade … and I can’t find this track _anywhere_ on the web … this might be the only captured instance of it. Hope they don’t mind! I think it’s better than the professional studio version (the soundcloud clip below).

I’ve been a fan of 30 Seconds To Mars for a while. One of my all-time favorite music videos is “From Yesterday,” released in 2005. I’ve seen it countless times. And continue to listen to it on repeat. I totally dig the short film approach to music videos.

I recently discovered a documentary the band put together called “Artifact.” From 2012, I’m a little late to the party, but it chronicles the band’s epic journey and battle with their music label, EMI, as they try to release “This is War” in 2009 (as well as the documentary). Highly recommend if you have Netflix.

They have another awesome short story / video from This is War called Hurricane (check it out. warning: uncensored).